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Pa. accredits new energy facilities
DU state leader in alternative energy
Becky Mack
Issue date: 12/11/08 Section: News
Last update: 12/11/08 at 11:19 PM EST
Duquesne's green efforts are being recognized again, but this time, the University will get a paycheck for its hard work.
The school's combined heat and power facility in the A.J. Palumbo Center has become the state's first approved distributed generation system for creating Alternative Energy Credits (AECs).
In 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell signed Act 213, Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard program, requiring utility companies to buy or develop a certain amount of alternate energy sources per year.
Duquesne now uses its facilities to generate up to 85 percent of its own electricity, said George Fecik, executive director of Facilities Management.
Also, the heat generated from electricity is turned into steam to heat the entire campus, boasting a 75 percent efficiency rate. Most power plants only operate at 35 percent efficiency, he added.
Neither Fecik nor Darrell Sandlin, manager of client services for Nexant Clean Energy Solutions, said they could estimate the reimbursement the University will receive from selling AECs because of fluctuating market value.
"By generating the AECs, it creates an additional income stream to help pay for projects," Sandlin said.
By operating at more than 70 percent efficiency, the cogeneration system qualifies as a Tier 2 energy source, generating 32,000 AECs - equivalent to 32,000 megawatt hours of clean electric power.
"We're saving by generating it here rather than buying from an electric utility company," Fecik said. "We're gaining that 40 percent efficiency, and that's what we're selling."
Duquesne paired up with Nexant Clean Energy Solutions to act as a broker for their AECs.
AECs represent the energy savings derived by generating electricity from renewable energy sources or from conserving electricity through energy efficient technologies, like Duquesne's dual-functioning electric and heating system.
When utility companies purchase the required AECs this year - 2 percent in Tier 1 credits, like solar power, and 4.2 percent in Tier 2 energy efficiency - money gets put back into green initiatives.
"It was a stimulus to try to get things happening in the energy field," Fecik said.
According to Act 213, electric distribution and supply companies will be required to invest a combined 18 percent in the credits by 2020.
The school's combined heat and power facility in the A.J. Palumbo Center has become the state's first approved distributed generation system for creating Alternative Energy Credits (AECs).
In 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell signed Act 213, Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard program, requiring utility companies to buy or develop a certain amount of alternate energy sources per year.
Duquesne now uses its facilities to generate up to 85 percent of its own electricity, said George Fecik, executive director of Facilities Management.
Also, the heat generated from electricity is turned into steam to heat the entire campus, boasting a 75 percent efficiency rate. Most power plants only operate at 35 percent efficiency, he added.
Neither Fecik nor Darrell Sandlin, manager of client services for Nexant Clean Energy Solutions, said they could estimate the reimbursement the University will receive from selling AECs because of fluctuating market value.
"By generating the AECs, it creates an additional income stream to help pay for projects," Sandlin said.
By operating at more than 70 percent efficiency, the cogeneration system qualifies as a Tier 2 energy source, generating 32,000 AECs - equivalent to 32,000 megawatt hours of clean electric power.
"We're saving by generating it here rather than buying from an electric utility company," Fecik said. "We're gaining that 40 percent efficiency, and that's what we're selling."
Duquesne paired up with Nexant Clean Energy Solutions to act as a broker for their AECs.
AECs represent the energy savings derived by generating electricity from renewable energy sources or from conserving electricity through energy efficient technologies, like Duquesne's dual-functioning electric and heating system.
When utility companies purchase the required AECs this year - 2 percent in Tier 1 credits, like solar power, and 4.2 percent in Tier 2 energy efficiency - money gets put back into green initiatives.
"It was a stimulus to try to get things happening in the energy field," Fecik said.
According to Act 213, electric distribution and supply companies will be required to invest a combined 18 percent in the credits by 2020.
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